Description
ducks on the riverbank
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Oil on panel, 40 x 50 cm, signed lower left.
Constant Artz was born in Paris, the son of David Adolph Constant Artz (1837-1890). Constant Artz lived and worked in Holland. He was a student of The Hague Academy and in 1899, became pupil of T. Offermans. His father studied primarily with the Dutch painter Jozef Israëls, and became intimate friends with artists Jacob and Matthijs Maris. Their brother, Willem Maris, had a direct influence on Constant Artz. Together with painters, Neuhuijs and B.J. Blommers, David Artz breathed new life into Nineteenth century genre painting. Like his father, Constant Artz followed his love of nature and painted open-air cameos in a realistic style. He was particularly drawn to depicting ducks, as there was a huge demand for this type of illustration during the nineteenth century. Ducks on a Riverbank shows the birds basking in sunlight, the artist’s play of light discernable on their down feathers. This is an excellent example of a preferred milieu of the age: painting the riverbank with ducks either swimming or disporting at the water’s edge.
